Leak: Next-gen HTC One photos with new smart cover revealed

HTC's newest flagship smartphone is not expected until 25 March, but web users got a glimpse this weekend thanks to leaked photos that reportedly show off the new gadget.

French blog No Where Else on Sunday published images from a Chinese Weibo site of the so-called HTC M8, marked by the China Mobile brand, next to its oversized sibling, the HTC One Max.

The Taiwanese smartphone maker is gearing up to unveil the successor to its flagship HTC One handset in two weeks during simultaneous events in New York and London.

Details about the device remain scant, though rumours suggest the tentatively titled All New HTC One will come with a brushed-metal body and 5in 1080p display, 2.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor, 3GB of RAM, and will run Google's latest mobile OS, Android 4.4 KitKat.

Based on the leaked photos, the reported second camera sensor appears to be in place—just above the back camera, tipping improved focus time and light metering.

Physically, the new phone looks similar to its predecessor—the biggest exceptions are a new location for the front sensors and the volume toggle, which now appears on the right side, next to the SIM card portal.

To top it all off, @evleaks posted to Twitter an image of an HTC One smart case that uses LED lights to display the time, weather, and possibly notifications directly on the cover of the protected phone.